News Briefs

On March 5 St. Francis Xavier Church in Henryville, Ind., became the main aid center for local victims of a devastating chain of tornadoes that left 39 dead in five states. • After 22 years of service to the Maryknoll Society, Marie Dennis resigned in January to devote herself to Pax Christi International, which she serves as co-president. • Legalization of same-sex marriage could obscure the “real meaning” of marriage for generations to come, the bishops of England and Wales told parishioners in a letter read at Masses on the weekend of March 11. • Vice President Joe Biden prayed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on March 5, remembering how his mother “impressed upon her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren that they must seek the intercession of the Blessed Mother.” • Catholics have a duty to bring faith-inspired convictions to politics and can never allow politics to trump principles articulated by the bishops, said Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York during a speech on March 3. • The Vatican’s official Web site suffered an attack by the computer hacker coalition “Anonymous,” which cut off access by users for several hours on March 7.